What am I doing this summer?

So what am I doing here? Below you will find in question-answer format what I will be doing this summer.

Who am I working for?
The Skylark Project, which branches off of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence ( ICADV).

What is the Skylark project and what do they do?
The purpose of the Skylark Project is to help the women at the Mitchellville prison with their commutation, which is the changing of a prison sentence to one that is less sever.

How does the process of commutation work in Iowa?
While a person serves time in prison, they are subject to an appeal every couple of years. An appeal, is an application or proceeding for review by the board of parole. The Iowa board of parole consists of five people from various backgrounds appointed by the Governor, who will decide whether a prisoner is eligible for commutation or not. If they vote in favor of the appeal, then it is submitted to the governor who then makes the final decision to grant commutation.

How is the Skylark Project involved in the process applying for commutation?
Step 1. The Skylark Project(SKP) receives dozens of letters from women in prison, requesting help with their appeal application.
Step 2. Members of SKP review every request according to criteria such as whether domestic violence (DV) or sexual assault (SA) was present and if so how it related to the crime, how long their sentence is and their term served. If the applications meet the initial criteria, they move on to the next step.
Step 3. The remainder of applicants are then asked more than once, 40 to 50 yes or no questions, about how they have been affected by DV and SA. From this, 10 are selected to the final round.
Step 4. Face to face interviews with the prisoners, who are asked again to tell their story more than once. 5 to 6 of those who show immense consistency in their stories are then eligible for help by members of the SKP
Step 5. The members of the SKP are assigned one women prisoner each who will work with her in doing various things: A) in helping her write a cohesive, legible and comprehensive application, B) in helping her present her case and talk about her story in front of an audience C) explain her situation and why she did not mention DV or SA during her initial trial.
Step 6. These 5 to 6 women submit their appeal and go in front of the board of parole.
Step 7. If the board of parole votes unanimously in favor of commutation, their application is then passed on to the governor, who makes the final decision.

What is my role in this process and throughout the summer?
One of my roles this summer will be to work with a young women who has been approved by the SKP in helping her with her commutation application (Step 5). I am also doing research on three cases and trying to collect as much information about the trials and signs of DV involved in these cases. In addition, I will also be in charge of working on creating a community-based project involving community members and incarcerated survivors to be on exhibit during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

If you have any more questions you want me to answer about what I will be doing this summer, please leave me a comment and I will answer them as best as possible